Assumptions
by NellyLove
Summary: Mara doesn't want anything to do with her sister's arrogant and attractive neighbor Randy Orton while she's in Florida for a visit. But a kind, unexpected offer changes her opinion of the man and suddenly the lessons become less about the swimming and more about them spending time together. Oneshot for DivaliciousDooL. OC/Randy Orton


**This is a request from DivaliciousDooL, so she owns the plot as well as the OC Mara. I own absolutely nothing, nor am I making a profit from this. I don't own any brands, etc that are mentioned either. The events of this work of fiction did not actually occur, they are completely made up. **

**It's a oneshot and something completely opposite of what I've been writing lately. Something much lighter, so yeah. I hope you guys enjoy. And thank you DivaliciousDooL for being patient since it took me a while to get this posted :) **

**xoxoxo**

**Angel **

* * *

**Title: Assumptions**

**Summary: Mara doesn't want anything to do with her sister's arrogant and attractive neighbor Randy Orton while she's in Florida for a visit. But a kind, unexpected offer changes her opinion of the man and suddenly the lessons become less about the swimming and more about them spending time together. **

**Rating: T**

**Pairing: Randy/OC (Mara) **

**Length: ~6,531**

* * *

Florida. Sunny, beach-bordered, bright Florida.

All in all, Mara's own personal hell.

The sun and humidity had never been friends of hers, there was a reason she had chosen all these years to stay up in Vermont rather than migrate southward like her sister had.

Circumstance, however, had changed Mara's plans to stay in Vermont that summer.

Now, in order to escape her parents demands and inquiries about her love life and why she hadn't found herself a husband yet, she had flown to Florida to stay with her sister and her brother-in-law.

Frowning at the endless expanse of sand as she sat in the passenger seat of her sister's car, Mara was seriously regretting the fact that her patience had run out with her parents. She didn't know how long she could make it in this severe sunlight.

"Perfect," Mara muttered as she stepped out of the car and came to stand on the front walk of her sister's house, which was just across the street from the beach. "Just perfect," she repeated as she squinted against the sun and walked around to the trunk of the car, helping her sister pull out her two bags.

"So, you'll be staying in the guest room," Anna told her sister with a bright smile, she was genuinely happy that her sister had decided to come visit for a couple months. Anna didn't see Mara often enough since she had moved down to Florida after she got married to Steve.

As Anna stepped up to the house, fishing around in her purse for her house key, Mara glanced around, trying to get an idea of her surroundings.

It was as her dark eyes were roaming over the beach and line of beautiful houses that she spotted her sister's next door neighbor.

Tanned, chiseled and ultimately god-like, a man stood in his front yard, shirtless, staring out across the sands to the ocean. He stretched luxuriously before turning his head, as if feeling her stare.

Mara's cheeks heated as she glanced away, embarrassed at being caught staring.

The man smirked, running a hand over his head and Mara couldn't help but watch the muscles of his tattooed arm move. She swallowed before chiding herself mentally and casting her eyes away once more.

"Mara? Did you hear anything I just said?" Anna asked, stepping into her sister's line of sight.

"Uh, no, sorry." Mara replied, trying to keep her eyes from strawing again.

Anna seemed to notice immediately that her sister was distracted by her neighbor. She smiled slightly, holding back the chuckle that wanted to escape.

"That's Randy, our neighbor. He's divorced, has a four year old daughter." Anna reported to her sister.

"What?"

"You're staring at him."

"Am not," Mara replied, letting go of her suitcase handle to cross her arms over her chest.

"Sure, whatever...he'll be at the barbeque tonight."

"What barbeque?" Mara asked as Anna opened the front door and she followed her older sister inside.

"The barbeque I was telling you about while you were being a creeper and checking out my neighbor."

"I was not being a creeper, I was...enjoying the scenery," Mara said with a shake of her head.

"Whatever you say," Anna shrugged, "anyways, our neighbor on the other side, Tom, he's having a barbeque, we're invited and you're coming so you can meet people. That way you won't get bored from just hanging out with me for the next couple months."

/

The barbeque wasn't so terrible, Mara admitted to herself as she stood with a beer in her hand and smiled at Tom, her sister's other neighbor, who was chatting to her about some new career endeavor he was undertaking. She smiled and nodded at the appropriate times, but she wasn't really listening.

Her eyes were else where, following a tall, tanned figure as he sauntered around from guest to guest, usually females. His smile was dazzling, his movements confident and Mara knew just from watching that he knew what he was doing. He probably thought he could get any woman at this party to sleep with him, and he was probably right.

The arrogance, however, was a major turnoff for Mara and she found herself looking away from him easily now, in disgust.

She hated guys who thought they could just use women for sex and have no repercussions. Players and womanizers were not her type, neither were arrogant assholes and Randy seemed to fit all three of those categories.

Making a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, she glanced down to find her beer bottle empty.

_I'll need another of these_, she mused to herself, heading over to the cooler where the beers were kept.

There was a slight line so she stood and waited for the gaggle of men to move out of the way so she could get to the cooler, and as she stood waiting a tall, masculine figure sauntered up next to her. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye and mentally sighed.

"No, I will not have sex with you."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I think you heard," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Wow, way to judge a book by its cover," he chuckled low in his throat.

"No, way to judge a dick by the way he schmoozes around a party, talking up all the pretty girls, finding out which ones will say yes," She turned away, grabbing another beer, "I'm helping you out here. You don't have to waste your time talking me up, because its a no."

"You don't even know me," he said, following her as she began to walk away, "I could be coming up to you for a completely innocent reason."

"Like what? Have you ever even spoken to a woman for an innocent reason before?" She shot back.

"You're fun, I think I'll follow you around more often."

"No matter how many times you ask, its still a no."

"I haven't even asked once." He pointed out.

She turned to face him, "still a no."

"But you've thought about it. Gosh, I don't even know you're name and you're thinking about what it'd be like to sleep with me."

"No I'm not," she guffawed, cheeks burning.

He smirked, "then why are you blushing."

"I've had too much to drink."

"One beer?" He quirked a brow.

Her eyes widened, "have you been watching me?"

He just smirked, leaning over her slightly, his face closer to hers than ever.

She stared up at him defiantly, hating the way he made her feel uncomfortable and inferior. She'd never been great with guys, not horrible, she could flirt and figure out a guy's intentions, but she never saw herself as the kind that just lured men in by the dozens based off of her looks. She wasn't some spectacular beauty, but she knew she had some perks in her appearance than men found attractive.

But she never attracted guys like Randy.

Sleazeballs? Yes. Slackers? Yes.

But attractive, athletic, arrogant douche-bags? No, not the usual type.

"I'm gonna leave now," she said, thrusting her beer into his hands, ignoring the way their skin slid against each others and a heat fluttered in her stomach. Then she was gone, stomping back to her sister's house.

Randy leaned back on his heels and smiled to himself.

She wasn't his usual type, and he could tell he wasn't hers, but he found her funny and captivating.

/

"So, I saw you and Randy chatting it up at the barbeque last night," Anna said, wiggling her eyes at her younger sister as she stepped into the kitchen that morning.

Mara sat at the island counter on a bar stool, elbows propped up on the marble top. She lifted her eyebrows at her sister, "I wouldn't call it 'chatting it up,'" she said, using air quotes.

Anna just gave her sister an unconvinced look.

"You know, he hasn't really dated since his divorce," she shrugged, "but then again, he travels a lot for his job, so...he could have a girlfriend. But I think he's single."

"Trust me sis, Randy and I won't be getting together. I plan to interact with him as little as possible," Mara said, pushing herself off her stool and heading to the guest bedroom to get ready for the day.

/

Mara stretched her arms over her head as she stepped out onto the front porch, intent on getting her sister's mail. It wasn't much but it was doing something since her sister was letting her stay for the next few months for free. Whenever she could she pitched in, doing small tasks. The dishes, getting the mail, folding the laundry.

Now, as she padded down the front walk she paused as movement out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention.

Randy, shirtless with a wet and glistening chest and torso.

Mara made a displeased sound in the back of her throat to herself but couldn't help but glance quickly over to him once more.

Randy smiled at his daughter as she carried over the bucket of water to him, sloshing over onto her feet. She giggled as the water splattered on her toes before setting the bucket down before her father.

"Thanks baby girl," he murmured, kissing her forehead before glancing up and seeing Mara standing at her sister's mailbox.

He watched her for a moment, smirking to himself slightly.

They'd seen each other various time since the barbeque, but she had always made it obvious she didn't want to speak at him.

He noticed her glances however.

Her dark eyes flickered toward him again and he smirked as their eyes met for a brief second.

Her pale cheeks inflamed as she realized he had caught her staring.

Slamming the mailbox shut she walked back into the house, chin held high and not risking another glance in Randy's direction.

This game would be fun, he decided.

/

Avoiding Randy was a lot harder than Mara had originally anticipated. Especially since Randy was her sister's next door neighbor. Mara never realized how often you actually see your neighbor until you're trying to avoid them.

Mara really hated to admit it, but she was attracted to Randy. Physically, at least. On a mental or emotional level she really just wasn't.

The physical part was starting to bug her. Every time she saw him, even the briefest glimpse, she couldn't help but stare and that drove her crazy.

She didn't want to be attracted to him at all.

She refused to be attracted to him.

But, damn, those abs.

/

"Hey, I'm making lunch, do you want some?" Mara asked as she hid under the overhang of the back patio so that she stayed in the shade.

Her sister was laid out in the sun in her bathing suit, working on her tan.

Anna lifted herself up onto her elbows to look at her sister, "no, Steve and I are actually going to go for a swim at our friend's pool and have lunch there. Do you want to come with? It'll be fun." Anna fixed her sister with an irresistible pout.

Mara floundered for an excuse to skip the pool with her sister and brother-in-law.

"I, uh, I promised Randy I'd babysit his daughter," Mara finally spoke, internally wincing at her faulty excuse. Randy of all people? She couldn't have named one of the other neighbors?

Anna frowned, honestly looking disappointed, "oh okay."

Mara felt the guilt immediately, the guilt of lying to her sister, the guilt of promising her they'd spend some time together and now she was ducking out.

"I promise we'll have some sister time tomorrow, okay?" Mara said, taking a hold of her sister's hands and smiling reassuringly.

Her sister grinned back, "we better, or I'll kick you out of my house," she said jokingly before hugging her sister. "I had a feeling you liked Randy," her sister whispered in her ear with a girlish giggle.

"I do-" Mara began to protest as she pulled back but after seeing her sister's smirk she knew her sister was convinced and there would be no talking her out of it. Mara just shook her head for a moment before Anna left.

"So you're babysitting my daughter, huh?"

Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.

"What?" Mara asked, swallowing as she turned to face the man.

"So, what's the real reason you won't go swimming?" he asked, arching a brow at her.

Mara immediately hated the short white fence that separated his yard from her sister's.

"I just didn't want to go," she replied stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Really? You and I both don't believe that," he smirked, "is it really because you're afraid of getting a tan?"

The comment was probably meant as more of an insult than a friendly joke, seeing as the two of them didn't really see eye to eye, mentally or physically.

She just rolled her eyes at him, choosing to ignore his comment.

"Okay, not that. Hmm," he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "oh, you don't have a swimsuit," he said, snapping his fingers as the possible reason came to him.

Mara looked off to the left, still ignoring him.

"Not that either?" He asked, feigning incredulity. There was a long silence and for a moment, Mara thought he had given up and left. Then, suddenly, his voice was there again and she couldn't help but let her eyes drift to his form.

"I got it. You're afraid of water," he spread his arms out, grinning like he'd won the lottery.

Mara sputtered, "n-no, I am not afraid of water. I just don't know how to swim!"

The exclamation left her before she could even filter the words. Her eyes immediately widened, as did Randy's.

"You got a tattoo but you never learned to swim?" He arched a brow at her incredulously, motioning to the tattoo that was peaking out between the straps of her tank top, "you sure you're not afraid of water?"

"I'm not afraid. I'm from Vermont, swimming just never seemed important." She argued, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't believe she'd just confessed to Randy that she couldn't swim. Him of all people knowing something like this, he was sure to make fun of her for it.

"I'll teach you."

She blinked, nearly falling over in shock. She must have heard him wrong, because she could've sworn she just heard him offer to teach her how to swim. "What?" Her eyebrows lifted.

"I'll teach you how to swim." He repeated, blue eyes intent on her.

"You will?" She didn't even try to contain her shock at the offer. This couldn't be the arrogant man she'd met a few weeks ago. She hesitated, not answering, letting a silence fall between them. "Is this some kind of trick?" She asked, eyes narrowing skeptically.

He held his arms out innocently, "no tricks, I promise Mara." His voice caressed her name gently and she bit her lip.

Her dark eyes locked with his light ones as she swallowed before whispering, "okay."

/

"I don't understand why you have a pool in your backyard, when the beach is like a hundred feet away from your door," Mara muttered as she padded across the stone path that lined Randy's pool.

"I live a life of convenience," he replied as he stepped through the french doors and into the backyard. "Sometimes I just need a little chlorine in my life."

Mara turned, her eyes traveling over his tanned skin as he tugged his shirt off over his head. She felt her cheeks heat up as he caught her staring and arched an eyebrow.

She turned around quickly, not realizing she was at the edge of the pool, and lost her balance, tipping toward the crystalline deep end.

She let out a shriek as she fell and then hit the water, going under.

"Shit, Mara," Randy said, kicking off his flip flops before diving into the pool.

Hooking an arm around her waist, he pulled her head above the surface, tugging her against him as he kicked out his strong legs, taking them to the shallow end where she could stand on her own.

He expected her to pull away once her feet where on solid ground but instead she turned her face into his chest.

"This is so embarrassing," she whispered.

In that moment, he realized he had two choices.

He could act like the arrogant guy that he showed to the rest of the world and say something any rude douche-bag would.

Or he could be the simple, sweet guy that he had buried away after his marriage went to hell.

"It's alright, it's just me here," he said. Ultimately, he chose the latter.

He could tell she was shocked by the way her neck snapped straight so she could look at him.

She didn't ask a question, just stared for a moment in silence before they separated.

/

Their lessons became less about swimming as they spent more time together.

Hours spent alone together in the pool led to stories and moments being shared. Mara learned things that disproved her belief that Randy was a heartless jerk. He quickly changed before her eyes into someone she admired.

Randy was always surprised by the contradiction of Mara and he too enjoyed the few stolen hours they spent together every couple of days.

He was smiling as he watched her as she kicked her feet under the water. They were sitting together on the side of the pool, having finished their "lesson" for the day. Honestly, she was doing quite well swimming and Randy knew she probably didn't need him as a teacher any more but there was no way he was going to comment that aloud—he enjoyed spending his time with her too much to do so.

"You know, I'm sorry I thought you were an asshole at first." Mara said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the poolside.

He shrugged, his arms dragging across hers, causing goosebumps to rise on her flesh. She stared at the surface of the water, listening to his deep, gravely voice as he spoke.

"It's okay, I let you believe it."

"You didn't try to prove me wrong either." She pointed out.

"Not at first, but I have now, haven't I?"

He turned his head to look at her, blue eyes searching her face, tracing the contours of her profile.

Slowly she turned to look back at him. She lifted one shoulder and smirked, "maybe."

He grinned, bumping her shoulder with his, "whatever, I think I have."

She broke, giggling softly as she nodded in agreement, "you did."

"Does that mean your answer to my unasked question has changed?" He asked teasingly as he raised an eyebrow, referring to the first real conversation they ever had where she had made an immediate assumption about him and his motives.

"You're hilarious and you obviously haven't learned anything from spending so much time with me if you think I'm just going to jump into bed with you. We haven't even kissed yet," she said, giving him a look.

"Is that an invitation?" He questioned hopefully.

She just grinned an alluring grin that had Randy immediately leaning in to her.

"Mara? You back here?" Suddenly Anna's voice reached them and Mara scrambled to her feet in time to see her sister leaning over the fence that separated Randy's backyard from her sister's.

"Hey sis," Mara said, smiling at her sister, hoping Anna hadn't noticed what had just been about to happen.

"Hey, uh, dinner's ready," Anna said, glancing between Randy and her sister.

"Right, I'll be there soon, I need to go shower." Mara said, she glanced back at Randy, their eyes connecting for a moment before she waved slightly and walked off.

/

Randy blew out a breath as he stared at the ceiling of his living room.

He hadn't seen Mara since the day they'd almost kissed and he was beginning to worry that the things he'd been feeling weren't as mutual as he thought they were.

Maybe she was playing him, just toying around with him, getting him to chase her,

He shook his head, casting the negative thoughts aside.

He liked Mara, he liked her a lot. He didn't really think she was the type to use someone.

He hadn't thought that about his ex-wife either.

Sighing, he knew he really just needed to talk to Mara about how he felt and ask her how she felt about him.

His feet touched the floor before he stood and headed for the door, pulling a shirt on as he went.

As he turned into the entrance hall, there was a soft knock at the door.

Eyebrows furrowed he unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"We need to talk."

Mara stood on his front porch in a cute rose colored sundress, the hint of a tan on her arms with a faded red that told him she had gotten sun-burnt for it. Her hands were clasped nervously in front of her as she looked up at him with her dark eyes.

"We do," he nodded in agreement, suddenly and uncharacteristically feeling nervous. He stepped aside so she could enter his home, closing the door behind her.

She took a few steps down the hall before stopping and turning to face him.

He could see the fear and apprehension on her face and knew if he didn't put himself out there first she would most likely run.

When his hand found hers, her dark eyes widened as she glanced down to see him weave their fingers together.

She glanced up at him, mouth opening slightly, but no sound came out.

He lowered his head so he could look directly into her eyes, "I want to be more than friends."

A few moments passed where she just stared at him and he began to feel nervous, fidgeting slightly, wondering if he had misjudged her expression and her being there.

Suddenly, she was smiling and he felt like he was being tossed back and forth, emotional whiplash was causing his head to spin.

"Same here," she whispered.

"So I'm no longer an arrogant douche-bag?" he asked, stepping ever closer, lifting his free hand to trace her jaw from chin to ear.

"Well, you still could be," she said, swallowing thickly as he leaned closer, his breath ghosting along her cheek.

She felt her body leaned instinctively into his as he disentangled their fingers and placed his hands on her waist.

"That didn't sound very convincing," he whispered into her ear hotly and she closed her eyes, enjoying the shivering sensations that washed through her body like overlapping waves.

Her hands lifted, fingers sliding over his defined jaw as she pulled back and their eyes met for a brief moment.

They could feel each others respective breath on their lips when a sudden knocking at the door sliced through their intimate moment.

Randy closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to Mara's but their lips never met.

He let out a heavy breath, his shoulders sagging.

"It's Sam," he muttered, knowing it was his ex-wife at the door. She had called a couple hours to let him know she was on her way with Alanna.

"Oh," Mara said softly.

"Give me a minute," he said, pulling back, and his sudden absence caused a chill to creep over Mara's skin as she wrapped her arms around herself and bit her lip.

Randy yanked open the door to reveal Sam with a pleasant smile on her bright pink lips and a manipulative glint in her eyes.

When she spotted Mara standing a few feet behind Randy her ego deflated for a brief moment before her smile turned sour.

"Who is she?" Sam asked haughtily, eyes judging the other woman.

"A friend," Randy replied as Alanna ran to him and he scooped her up into his arms.

Mara would've admired the picture of father and daughter if his words hadn't stung her so much. She stood silently as Randy spoke quickly with Sam about when she would pick Alanna up and what plans his daughter had for that week.

Sam cast a glare at Mara, sensing the woman was more than a friend, before turning and heading back to her convertible.

Before Randy could even shut the door, Mara was sliding past him and out of the house.

He called after her. "Mara, wait," he set Alanna down and moved to follow her.

"Don't bother Randy." And then she was gone, disappearing into her sister's house.

/

"I knew you and Randy had a thing," Anna said, pointing victoriously at her sister as Mara padded across the kitchen. Pulling open a cupboard door she pulled her stash of Oreos off the shelf, opening to package and plucking a cookie from its neat row. Stuffing the Oreos back into the cabinet she turned to look at her sister, leaned back against the counter top as she pulled the Oreo apart.

"Technically, it's never got to be a thing."

"Then why is he camped out on our front porch? How long has it been since you talked to him?" She asked.

"Over a week," Mara replied with a shrug as she licked the creamy deliciousness off the cookie.

"You should go talk to him."

"Not happening."

"He said he won't leave until you go out there and talk to him."

"Then I guess I'm not leaving the house and he's going to freeze out there."

"Mara, we're in Florida."

"Sweat then," Mara shrugged stubbornly before leaving the kitchen.

The next afternoon, Mara entered the kitchen, heading directly for her Oreo stash. When she opened the cupboard door she blinked at the empty spot on the shelf.

"Anna!" She yelled.

"Yeah?" Her sister asked, popping her head into the doorway.

"Where are my Oreos?" She asked, gritting her teeth.

"I dunno." Her sister replied, trying to smile innocently.

"I hate you," Mara growled.

"Guess you'll have to go to the store to get some," Anna said, ignoring her sister's comment.

As much as her ego wanted her to stay in the house and keep her pride, the logical side of her brain knew she needed to go and talk to Randy.

Sucking in a deep breath she turned and headed for the front door, adjusting the top she was wearing before she pulled open the door.

She stepped outside, not seeing Randy immediately. Movement in her peripheral vision caused her to turn in time to see Randy push himself off the wall of the house.

Forcing herself to take in even breaths, she watched as Randy took a first, hesitant step toward her before suddenly summoning his confidence and striding toward her.

Hooking on arm around the back of her head and the other around her waist, he pulled her to him, sealing his lips to her, stealing the gasp of air that left her lips. She couldn't say she'd ever been kissed like that before, so confidently, so honestly. He didn't apologize in words, he apologized in that kiss.

She attempted to pull away, the feminist side of her trying to be strong and wanting to talk this out, not fall victim to a warm body but Randy effectively squashed her attempts. Always, he pulled her lips back to his with longer, lingering kisses that sweetened more and more with each kiss.

Randy ended the kiss when he was ready to, letting go of her waist, cupping one cheek in his hand as he smiled softly at her, his blue eyes alight with an emotion she couldn't name at the moment due to her fuzzy mind.

They were both breathing heavily as Randy whispered, "come with me," before stepping back and holding his hand out to her.

She barely hesitated a moment before sliding her hand into his.

He led her down the front walk of her sister's house and then across the street, toward the endless blue of the ocean.

As they walked, hand in hand through the sand Randy seemed to be thinking carefully about the words he was about to say.

After a moment of hesitation he spoke, "I didn't mean to say you're just a friend. Y-you're obviously much more than that, I want you to be more than a friend. I just didn't want Sam to get any ideas because then she'd cause problems, not just for me, but for you too." He ran a hand over his face before glancing over at Mara who was biting her lip and nodding as she listened.

"I just...it kind of hurt, I thought we were making progress, and then you answered her question so quickly I thought I was being stupid for thinking that you were interested in me. I'd just put myself out there and told you what I wanted, that I want a relationship with you and you turned around and said I was just a friend. I was confused and hurt and," he cut her off suddenly with a soft press of his lips.

When he pulled back she looked up at him but he just jerked his head to the side.

Her gaze shifted in the direction he motioned and a small gasp left her.

A candlelight picnic was set up on the beach in the dim evening air. It was beautiful, breathtaking and utterly romantic.

"How did you know I would come out today, to have this set up?"

"Your sister may have helped me a bit."

Mara rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile.

"C'mon," he murmured, tugging on her hand.

Together they sat down on the blanket, Randy pulling Mara into his arms and they talked, just spoke easily and freely, enjoying the presence of one another.

Mara didn't expect things to happen like they had, but between the candles and the evening beach air, and Randy's strong warmth she wasn't too surprised by what happened.

The loss of fabric from her body didn't make her cold as Randy's heat suddenly replaced the one previously supplied by her clothes. It wasn't all that cold, it was a humid Florida night.

The crashing of the waves matched the coursing passion within her as she and Randy melted together with kisses and words and touches that were all too tender for sentences.

As they lay together afterward, curled around one another under a second blanket she couldn't stop the smile that spread onto her lips as Randy kissed her shoulder and they both closed their eyes.

Sunlight, strong, heavy sunlight is what woke them.

"Holy," Mara said as she sat up, eyes wide, hair rumpled.

Randy sat up more slowly but reached over, picking up her dress and underwear and handing it to her. She slid the clothes on underneath the blanket before turning to look at him.

There was a grin on his lips and she couldn't help but return it as she placed a hand on his cheek. "I need to go," she whispered.

He frowned suddenly, placing his hand over hers, "why?"

"My sister will be wondering where I am."

"I'm pretty sure she has an idea of where you are," he replied with a cheeky smile.

Mara rolled her eyes, "seriously Randy."

He sighed and nodded, reaching over and finding his jeans.

Mara stood, locating her sandals and sliding them onto her feet as she looked over at Randy. "We need to talk about what this means later."

Randy turned to her, arching a brow, "I thought this meant we were together?"

"We'll talk about it, but I need to go," she said, walking over to him and pecking his lips.

He didn't let her go so easily, drawing her back in for a deeper kiss that left her breathless.

With a chuckle she pushed against his shoulder, "I need to go," she muttered against his insistent mouth.

"You don't _need _to." He argued but let her go.

She laughed, shaking her head before she turned and headed back up the beach toward her sister's house.

/

She was finally at the store buying her Oreos, which she found out her sister had given to her friend's daughter. Hence why there had been none in the house the day Mara had been looking for them.

As she perused down the snack foods aisle she glanced to the side out of habit upon seeing someone walking by.

A pleasant, polite smile had been about to curl her lips when she recognized the face of the woman who was strutting down the aisle.

The woman's pace stuttered as she recognized Mara as well.

"Oh, well hi there," Sam said, a fake grin plastering itself onto her face.

Mara tried to smile back, "hi."

"You're Mara, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

Suddenly, Sam's polite, friendly demeanor was lost as she gave the woman before her a condescending glance.

"I have no idea, really no idea, what Randy sees in you. You're certainly not his type. No nearly pretty enough to be a model, don't look athletic enough to be a Diva, so I'm quite confused." Sam said, cocking her head to the side slightly as she studied Mara with narrowed eyes.

"So, I think I figured out what he's doing with you."

She paused briefly to see if Mara would say anything but the dark-eyed woman stayed silent.

"You're something different. He got bored with models, since none of them measure up to me, and he decided to go for something less...well, less everything. You're different and that's fun for now, but it won't keep his interest long. He'll be over you in a heartbeat."

Mara wanted to have a witty comeback about how Sam was so shallow that she couldn't even keep herself interested but no words came. Only insecurities and doubts were evoked by Sam's words.

The woman had a point, she did know Randy well, she'd been married to him. She knew his type, she must have been his type.

And Mara certainly wasn't anything like Sam.

Worry and fear crept into her heart where certainty and ignorance had once been.

**/**

Randy couldn't wrap his head around what was currently happening.

Mara wouldn't speak to him, wouldn't even look at him, she'd ignore him and walk past if he tried to approach her.

The cold shoulder she was giving him physically hurt.

He was falling for her and now she wouldn't even speak to him.

He had no idea what he had done, or what could've happened to make her act this way.

As he sat going over his actions as of late, replaying all of their conversations in his head, trying to find a reason as to why Mara would be ignoring him, the doorbell rang.

He stood up, "Alanna, your mother is here," he called.

His little girl came running down the hall and toward the front door, meeting him there.

Pulling open the door, he found Sam standing there. Alanna smiled widely as her mother reached down and picked her up, situating her daughter onto her hip.

Sam glanced behind Randy, "so you told that poor little girl to get lost?"

Randy blinked at her, "no, I didn't...but I have a feeling you did."

"What?" Sam tried to feign innocence.

"What did you say to her?" Randy asked, gritting his teeth.

She didn't say anything in returned. He slid past his ex-wife, pecking his daughter's forehead before he headed next door, ignoring the sprinkling Florida rain that had begun to fall.

His fist slammed against Anna's front door several time before it finally opened, revealing a wide-eyed Anna.

"Wh-what is it?" She asked.

"Where's Mara?" He asked.

"She went for a walk," Anna replied as she looked, noticing the rain.

Randy was gone, however, getting into his car and revving the engine as he pulled out of his driveway and onto the street.

"Dammit, Mara, pick up your phone," Randy muttered as he drove down the street in the pouring rain, eyes skipping from the road to the beach, looking for her.

Suddenly, the ringing on the line stopped and was replaced with a quietness as well as a static echoing of the rain and the shallow breaths of someone crying.

"Mara?"

She didn't reply but he knew she was there.

"Mara, I don't know what Sam said to you, but don't believe a word of it." He glanced around, trying to find her. "Whatever she said was a fucking lie because..." he paused for a moment, "because I'm falling for you, okay? And it's a little frightening for me, but the last thing I want is my ex-wife fucking things up for us, okay?"

Mara sat with her knees pulled up to her chest in the rain and listened to Randy talk on the phone. Her lips trembled as his words reached her and she realized how stupid she was for believing a word of what Sam said. It was stupid of her to be so insecure when Randy made her feel more secure than she had her whole life.

"Mara, I'm trying to find you right now, because I would really rather say these things to you face to face than over the phone."

Suddenly, his headlights caught on a figure sitting in the sand.

Whipping his car around, he parked, leaving his car running and his lights on as Mara stood, her toes sinking into the sand as she turned to face the car that had just pulled up.

She opened her mouth as if to say something but no words came out.

"Mara," he said as he stepped out of his car. She took a step toward him and suddenly he was running to her.

His lips were on hers before she could even say his name and his finger dove into her hair as her hands gripped his biceps.

"I'm falling for you too," she whispered against his mouth and he just grinned before kissing her deeply again.

"Good."

**-End-**


End file.
